A few thoughts after the report.

Federal officials and police are interviewing a man, believed to be Nigerian, who allegedly was trying to “explode” a powdery substance aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, injuring himself and two other passengers, law enforcement officials said.

Northwest Airlines flight 253 landed safely in Detroit at 11:53 a.m. The man, whose flight started in Nigeria before stopping in Amsterdam, is in custody at the Detroit airport and being interviewed by authorities there. Investigators are trying to corroborate several statements he made to them and determine his mental stability.

Delta spokeswoman Susan Chana Elliott said that “as the plane was getting ready to land” in Detroit “a passenger caused a disturbance” by trying to ignite what was reported to be firecrackers. He was “subdued immediately.” Northwest is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta.

It is unclear how powerful the explosive could have been and what the man’s intentions were. Initial reports were that fireworks or firecrackers had gone off on the plane. The man suffered second-degree burns, which is consistent with a small fireworks device.

For starters, I’m glad to see that the man was quickly subdued, supposedly by passengers. Perhaps this indicates that not only Americans but international passengers aren’t willing to sit by as morons try to do harm to innocents.

Second, you have to question how the suspect passenger smuggled fireworks on board. I can’t even get a tube of toothpaste in my carry-on, but he’s packing Sky King inventory in the cabin. Are the security measures that relaxed in Nigeria and Amsterdam, even when the plane is bound for the United States? If so, that’s a major problem.

Finally, I doubt the suspect part of any major terror ring (eg. Al Qaeda or Hezbollah). He may be a member of a local group of thugs or he may simply have mental issues. But I don’t see an Al Qaeda operation relying on a single guy setting off fireworks in the cabin of an airliner.

Update: The guy sounds loony:

The man told investigators that he wanted to set off a bomb over the United States and claimed to be tied to al-Qaida, counterterrorism officials said.

It’s being treated as a possible attempted terrorist attack by law enforcement officials, which it may very well be. I’m still leaning towards nutjob jihadist-wannabe, but there may just be more to this story than currently meets the eye.

Update X2: CBS News Radio also quotes a senior U.S. intelligence official saying that the suspect intended to blow up the plane.